Othelo Gervacio’s Horror/Skate/Metal ink wash work is where it’s at. Gervacio’s technique renders skeletons, reapers, and ghosts just softly enough to mix up the whole graphics game. With a nice mix of controlled bleeding and tight line work, this is a prime example of how this stuff should be done. Where Neckface might parody, Gervacio comes in and celebrates, proving that imitation is not always a form of surrendered creativity.
The drawings of Los Angeles based illustrator Sterling Bartlett are a perfect mix of heavy metal cool and Ironic humor. Each drawing is a perfect iconic image that grabs your attention from a mile away yet is easy to digest in just a few seconds. Perhaps that’s why he creates graphics for some of our favorite LA based clothing lines such as Blood Is The New Black and Krew Denim.
Joana Avillez is a radical comic book drawing machine from Manhattan, NYC. Her work exists in a universe all her own where old timey cartoons wear Geta shoes and one-of-a-kind hats, while reading old issues of Heavy Metal and Raw, over a nice hot bowl of asian soup. Buy copies of her most recent book “Life Dressing: The Idiosyncratic Fashionistas” here.
The art of Skinner is full of mullets, monsters and metal heads, not to mention the lurkers, samurai and lil’ devils. The self-proclaimed nerd for life takes inspiration from the world of fantasy, giving life to the dreams (or sometimes nightmares) of Slayer fans and Dungeon masters everywhere. The beautifully detailed works combine the aesthetics of street art, comic book illustrations, and something akin to black velvet paintings on acid. Each work has such an immense sense of epicness, it’s hard to not get caught up in the world created. And while many of the paintings and drawings convey infinitely complex scenes that you could look at for hours, Skinner also makes lighter works that are hard not to love, especially when they’re called things like Eternal Jamnation, and have a dark, glowing monster jamming on a guitar, surrounded by bats. It’s the kind of work that just oozes passion, because no one could make images so far from reality without being totally immersed in the process. It’s like a Metalocolypse Halloween episode 365 days a year. But, despite the awesome appearance of his work, Skinner is extremely introspective and self-critical, constantly challenging himself as an artist and working to create something completely innovative. His determination to return to a more childlike inspiration, a time when “it was just raw freedom, there were no expectations, there were no ideas of good or bad it was just being in the moment and trying [his] best to do something that looks good.”
